- Wikipedia
- Face-lift!
Greg Wood, who runs the Roseway Theater in Portland, is taking over operations. My counterpart at the Portland Mercury, Erik Henriksen, called the Roseway "the best movie theater I've ever been in," and said of Wood:
He took an old theater, gorgeously renovated it, stuck in the best digital picture and sound I've experienced, and kept it all independent. It gets first-run movies on opening dates, but he sells concessions at non-rapey prices, hires charming teenagers to work there, and generally runs a hell of an outfit.
I spoke with Wood about his plans for the Cinerama—will it be as gorgeously kick-ass as the Roseway? Will it be a hell of an outfit?
I’ll be leading a strong charge to put the Cinerama back in the forefront of Seattle’s brains again. It’s a multi-million dollar renovation, with emphasis on high-end new technology, while at the same time keeping our film roots in place. A lot of it is just getting interaction with Seattle, getting in touch with the community, and figuring out what people want to see. A wide range from bread and butter first-run 3-D movies all the way to grittier stuff like, for example, a Godzilla film festival. We’ll be doing a lot of partnering with SIFF and community organizations, and trying to bring ownership back to Seattle a little bit.
And what of the alleged non-rapey prices? What of the teenage charm?
[Laughs.] We plan on having a really wonderful support group, and I will say price-wise, box office prices kind of have to stay comparable to other theaters in the area. But we’ll offer extreme value for concessions areas.
Did you hear that, people? EXTREME.
"The big emphasis," Wood says, "is getting feedback from Seattle." Do you have feelings, Seattle? Cineramatic opinions? If so, e-mail Greg and let him know what you want to see.
